Over 250 people across multiple states have been infected with measles this year and two people have died. The vast majority of these cases are centered in areas with low vaccination rates. According to a March 7 release by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most of the cases “
It's as I feared, vaccines we need could become scarce or not even be developed, and if they are, they will probably be incredibly expensive without government funding to pay for research and development. I'm wondering if the goal isn't to kill off inconvenient people: the poor, elderly, and people with underlying health conditions.
This is all a consequence of the GOP's decades long war on science. Which it has undertaken--with the help of FOX News and RW media--on behalf of the top two GOP constituencies: Fossil Fuels and Evangelicals. The former hates science because of Global Warming; and the latter because of Creationism and reproductive biology. It's due to the clout of both of these groups that DOGE's gutting of nearly ALL American scientific research this month produced ecstatic cheers and not groans from the GOP Base.
Anti-Vaxxers were formerly just a minor Leftist fringe; but went bigly mega-MAGA during the Pandemic, as Red states hysterically resisted Covid vaccinations as part of their highly successful campaign to kill off over a million elderly nursing home residents, who relied on Medicaid and Medicare. But don't cry for all those grannies! Their (unwilling) sacrifice helped balance many a Red state budget.
I love (read: hate) how Kennedy tries to play this off like everybody getting measles is what stops its spread. That might work in the short term, but over the long term, without immunizations, you're going to see a resurgence.
I would like a member of the press to ask RFK Jr. if they haven't already what an acceptable number is of deaths due to measles. The answer will probably be nonsense, but I'd want to hear him try to defend letting children die because of individual freedoms.
I would like a member of the press to ask the question what happened to your promises to Senator Cassidy, and I would also like to press to ask Senator Cassidy, how he feels about this right now and whether they’re going to call Kennedy into hearings about failing to do what he promised to do.
Destroying science is part of the GOP band. You can't deny the research Global Warming or Evolution--or the joke that is Abstinence-based teen pregnancy prevention--without attacking science or gutting research funding.
The Fossil Fuels industry wants to up its profits; while the Evangelicals want to take us back to the 14th Century.
I think it he has the same problem as most: his identity is wrapped into his worldview. Trusting research usually means changing your opinion when new evidence comes to light. Few people will do that when it conflicts with their identity.
What can be said? Make fun of his idiocy? Play with his name? Question the taste of Cheryl Hines? I do not know how to respond to this update of Kennedy. He is pathetic in a sense, but too powerful to feel sorry for. When I think that unvaccinated people get what they deserve I remember that babies and children did not make these decisions, did they?
Is there precedent in history where a wealthy, well-educated country decided to go backwards, away from their culture, science, medicine, legal and equality progress deliberately? Where would we find this phenomena? Boy, I feel sorry for children born today anywhere in the world as the amazing discoveries of the modern era are tossed aside for paranoia and stupidity.
I’m not ready to blame the victims of the con. I’ve talked to parents who are terrified that their children might actually develop autism if they are vaccinated.
I also have a rarely-diagnosed but not uncommon immune disorder and any vaccination can cause a flare of symptoms that can last from hours to months. Many of these folks are so terrified of flares that they are unwilling to vaccinate. I take the risk and get every vaccine, because the diseases are especially dangerous for people with this disorder.
Then there’s the brainwashing by media, RW clergy, and dumb-fuck politicians. Repeat the Big Lie enough times and it’s practically hard-wired into our brains. Especially when some Red State areas have nothing but Sinclair news and billboards. When one of those Big Lies is that Democrats are demons who want to destroy you and your country…
Stupidity is not the real issue here. There have always been stupid people but this is the first time they have so much power.
There is no precedence for this unless this is the precursor to what happened in societies that appear to have walked away from their cities and disappeared in the mists of the past?
I have relatives who as children received all of their innoculations with no ill effects now claiming vaccines cause - insert noise.
It completely escapes me how an intelligent person can choose to believe that which is not true and has been proven untrue repeatedly, while ignoring anything that challenges their cherished and fervently pursued beliefs. It's not only illogical. It's criminal! The world is not flat dammit!
I'm done with these people. It is 2025 not 1025 and if this population has not evolved sufficiently enough to use their brains then we, as a civilization, are beyond hope. Just hearing RFK Jr's voice makes me want to bang my head against a wall.
Children ARE going to suffer, and they ARE going to die and their parents are not getting one iota of sympathy from me. They bet their children's lives on some crackpot idea they heard in a podcast. I'll save my sympathy for the folks who'll end up being collateral damage to this group of selfish morons.
Can we just consider that a mother might believe the risk of autism outweighs the risk of measles? And frankly, I’ve listened to young people who are desperate to know what information to believe and how to know where to find it. So I consider most of these folks to be victims more than deliberate perpetrators.
Well, if that young mother eschews traditional sources of proven information, the onus is on her and her "support network." No excuse for folks who choose to believe that vaccines cause autism when they have reached adulthood having been vaccinated themselves with no ill effects.
None of the last few weeks make sense unless you ASSUME Trump is a Russian asset whose assignment is to destroy America. (Congressional Republicans seem comfortable...why?) Kennedy appears to genuinely believe in Middle Ages' medicine, so he is a perfect tool.
As a person who rolled up my sleeve and participated in Moderna’s phase III vaccine trial back in 2020, I cannot put into words how infuriated I am at these numbskulls who poopoo vaccine safety and efficacy. I’m also a veterinarian, so I have a deep background in immunology and vaccine science which makes it easy to debunk ANYTHING they say. The problem is, though, you can come at them with all the hard science you want and they will still parrot their unsubstantiated drivel and misinformation. I’m really scared for our youth.
It completely escapes me how an intelligent person can choose to believe that which is not true and has been proven untrue repeatedly, while ignoring anything that challenges their cherished and fervently pursued beliefs.
Maybe the unvaccinated could all move to Texas and the surrounding states... throw a wall up and not let them enter the rest of the US? This idea is trump backwards... but hey.. gotta try something.. he's focused on illegals taking jobs and eating cats we will focus on the unvaccinated not spreading disease and harming our newborns
Thank you for the clear reporting on Kennedy's plans to make the nation unhealthy. Thanks to Kennedy, Trump, and the Republican senators, there may not be a flu shot for next year. There may not be a Covid shot for next year. Children will die or be born with birth defects (Rubella or German measles as it was sometimes called). And do we really want more unnecessary use of steroids?
It's as I feared, vaccines we need could become scarce or not even be developed, and if they are, they will probably be incredibly expensive without government funding to pay for research and development. I'm wondering if the goal isn't to kill off inconvenient people: the poor, elderly, and people with underlying health conditions.
And also those who were healthy before they got these preventable diseases!
This is all a consequence of the GOP's decades long war on science. Which it has undertaken--with the help of FOX News and RW media--on behalf of the top two GOP constituencies: Fossil Fuels and Evangelicals. The former hates science because of Global Warming; and the latter because of Creationism and reproductive biology. It's due to the clout of both of these groups that DOGE's gutting of nearly ALL American scientific research this month produced ecstatic cheers and not groans from the GOP Base.
Anti-Vaxxers were formerly just a minor Leftist fringe; but went bigly mega-MAGA during the Pandemic, as Red states hysterically resisted Covid vaccinations as part of their highly successful campaign to kill off over a million elderly nursing home residents, who relied on Medicaid and Medicare. But don't cry for all those grannies! Their (unwilling) sacrifice helped balance many a Red state budget.
I love (read: hate) how Kennedy tries to play this off like everybody getting measles is what stops its spread. That might work in the short term, but over the long term, without immunizations, you're going to see a resurgence.
I would like a member of the press to ask RFK Jr. if they haven't already what an acceptable number is of deaths due to measles. The answer will probably be nonsense, but I'd want to hear him try to defend letting children die because of individual freedoms.
HE had HIS children vaccinated.
I would like a member of the press to ask the question what happened to your promises to Senator Cassidy, and I would also like to press to ask Senator Cassidy, how he feels about this right now and whether they’re going to call Kennedy into hearings about failing to do what he promised to do.
THIS!!! 👆👆👆!!!
Maybe we call our senators including Cassidy and ask why they’re allowing this? To undermine science & stop research is crazy sad & dangerous
The most distressing thing about these interviews is the total lack of pushback. No questioning or demanding facts.
I agree 100% Rickey!!
Destroying science is part of the GOP band. You can't deny the research Global Warming or Evolution--or the joke that is Abstinence-based teen pregnancy prevention--without attacking science or gutting research funding.
The Fossil Fuels industry wants to up its profits; while the Evangelicals want to take us back to the 14th Century.
Madness!
I used to think he was just an ignorant show-off, which he is, but now I am convinced he is evil personified
I think it he has the same problem as most: his identity is wrapped into his worldview. Trusting research usually means changing your opinion when new evidence comes to light. Few people will do that when it conflicts with their identity.
Or their opinion or their public stance.
Or they have a financial stake in the false data. Hasn’t RFKjr made a ton of money suing vaccine manufacturers?
According to his cousin Caroline, he was the mean bully as a child, and the careless junkie as an adult.
I think his brain worm is acting up as opposed to evil, but who knows
800 million in grants to Johns Hopkins scrapped. Madness.
What can be said? Make fun of his idiocy? Play with his name? Question the taste of Cheryl Hines? I do not know how to respond to this update of Kennedy. He is pathetic in a sense, but too powerful to feel sorry for. When I think that unvaccinated people get what they deserve I remember that babies and children did not make these decisions, did they?
Is there precedent in history where a wealthy, well-educated country decided to go backwards, away from their culture, science, medicine, legal and equality progress deliberately? Where would we find this phenomena? Boy, I feel sorry for children born today anywhere in the world as the amazing discoveries of the modern era are tossed aside for paranoia and stupidity.
I’m not ready to blame the victims of the con. I’ve talked to parents who are terrified that their children might actually develop autism if they are vaccinated.
I also have a rarely-diagnosed but not uncommon immune disorder and any vaccination can cause a flare of symptoms that can last from hours to months. Many of these folks are so terrified of flares that they are unwilling to vaccinate. I take the risk and get every vaccine, because the diseases are especially dangerous for people with this disorder.
Then there’s the brainwashing by media, RW clergy, and dumb-fuck politicians. Repeat the Big Lie enough times and it’s practically hard-wired into our brains. Especially when some Red State areas have nothing but Sinclair news and billboards. When one of those Big Lies is that Democrats are demons who want to destroy you and your country…
Stupidity is not the real issue here. There have always been stupid people but this is the first time they have so much power.
Propaganda works.
There is no precedence for this unless this is the precursor to what happened in societies that appear to have walked away from their cities and disappeared in the mists of the past?
I have relatives who as children received all of their innoculations with no ill effects now claiming vaccines cause - insert noise.
It completely escapes me how an intelligent person can choose to believe that which is not true and has been proven untrue repeatedly, while ignoring anything that challenges their cherished and fervently pursued beliefs. It's not only illogical. It's criminal! The world is not flat dammit!
I'm done with these people. It is 2025 not 1025 and if this population has not evolved sufficiently enough to use their brains then we, as a civilization, are beyond hope. Just hearing RFK Jr's voice makes me want to bang my head against a wall.
Children ARE going to suffer, and they ARE going to die and their parents are not getting one iota of sympathy from me. They bet their children's lives on some crackpot idea they heard in a podcast. I'll save my sympathy for the folks who'll end up being collateral damage to this group of selfish morons.
Edit - "Just hearing RFK Jr's voice makes me want to bang HIS head against a wall."
Can we just consider that a mother might believe the risk of autism outweighs the risk of measles? And frankly, I’ve listened to young people who are desperate to know what information to believe and how to know where to find it. So I consider most of these folks to be victims more than deliberate perpetrators.
Well, if that young mother eschews traditional sources of proven information, the onus is on her and her "support network." No excuse for folks who choose to believe that vaccines cause autism when they have reached adulthood having been vaccinated themselves with no ill effects.
None of the last few weeks make sense unless you ASSUME Trump is a Russian asset whose assignment is to destroy America. (Congressional Republicans seem comfortable...why?) Kennedy appears to genuinely believe in Middle Ages' medicine, so he is a perfect tool.
Yes, he is indeed a perfect tool.
Every single one of this maniac’s cabinet picks has MISLEAD the Senate and the public. Yet when in public places you don’t seem to see concern . WTF ?
And the Republican senators are not stupid. They are Trump appeasers.
As a person who rolled up my sleeve and participated in Moderna’s phase III vaccine trial back in 2020, I cannot put into words how infuriated I am at these numbskulls who poopoo vaccine safety and efficacy. I’m also a veterinarian, so I have a deep background in immunology and vaccine science which makes it easy to debunk ANYTHING they say. The problem is, though, you can come at them with all the hard science you want and they will still parrot their unsubstantiated drivel and misinformation. I’m really scared for our youth.
Brainwashing, propaganda, fear - override critical thinking.
It completely escapes me how an intelligent person can choose to believe that which is not true and has been proven untrue repeatedly, while ignoring anything that challenges their cherished and fervently pursued beliefs.
Why was Cassidy so stupid? Starting with SCOTUS nominees, lying in your confirmation hearing is de rigueur. And people keep falling for it!!!
Maybe the unvaccinated could all move to Texas and the surrounding states... throw a wall up and not let them enter the rest of the US? This idea is trump backwards... but hey.. gotta try something.. he's focused on illegals taking jobs and eating cats we will focus on the unvaccinated not spreading disease and harming our newborns
I’m for that!
I got $5 on it!
How long before Kennedy and his science-denier conspirators start to question whether cigarettes are really all that bad for you?
Depends on how much the Tobacco industry pays him.
Suspect that’s already started.
Kennedy is a psychopath that delights in the pain, suffering and death of others. He wants Americans to die.
Thank you for the clear reporting on Kennedy's plans to make the nation unhealthy. Thanks to Kennedy, Trump, and the Republican senators, there may not be a flu shot for next year. There may not be a Covid shot for next year. Children will die or be born with birth defects (Rubella or German measles as it was sometimes called). And do we really want more unnecessary use of steroids?